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Title: INFLUENCE OF ASH ON THE FIBER COMPOSITION OF DRIED DAIRY MANURES

Author
item Reeves Iii, James
item Van Kessel, Jo Ann

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/25/2002
Publication Date: 11/1/2002
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: In order to understand the changes which occur when manure is applied to soil, compositional information on the manure is needed. The objective of this work was to examine the role of ash in the compositional analysis of dried dairy manures. Ninety nine dairy manures obtained from CT, MD, NY, PA and VA were dried at 60o C, and ground to 20 mesh. Samples were analyzed for several measures of fiber, lignin, total carbon, total nitrogen, and ash. In addition, cellulose and hemicellulose were computed by difference. Results indicated that high ash contents (8 to 52% of dry matter) can dramatically and unpredictably alter various measures of fiber composition and are a significant source of error in the determination of manure composition and how it relates to mineralization (conversion of organic N to plant usable forms) or other compositional influenced factors. Also, while the ash content of the dried intact manure can easily be determined, it is difficult to estimate the ash contribution to the individual fiber determinations, especially if sequential assays are performed.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this work was to examine the role of ash in the compositional analysis of dried dairy manures. Ninety nine dairy manures obtained from CT, MD, NY, PA and VA were dried at 60o C, and ground to 20 mesh. Samples were analyzed for neutral and acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, total carbon, total nitrogen, and ash. In addition, cellulose and hemicellulose were computed by difference. Results indicated that high ash contents (8 to 52% of dry matter) can dramatically and unpredictably alter various measures of fiber composition and are a significant source of error in the determination of manure composition and how it relates to mineralization or other compositional influenced factors. Also, while the ash content of the dried intact manure can easily be determined, it is difficult to estimate the ash contribution to the individual fiber determinations, especially if sequential assays are performed.